It is crazy to even be typing this, but today was our 42nd and FINAL meeting for Project Knowledge. Although we will be scheduling various meetings in the Los Angeles area upon our return, today marked our last discussion on the road. And wow... it was a memorable one.
We met up with Arlene Goldbard at her home in Richmond, California right outside of San Francisco. "A provocative independent voice for our times, Arlene Goldbard is a writer, social activist, and consultant who works for justice, compassion and honor in every sphere, from the interpersonal to the transnational.
Arlene’s essays have appeared in such journals as Art in America, The Independent, Theatre, High Performance and Tikkun. Her books include Crossroads: Reflections on the Politics of Culture; New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development; and Community, Culture and Globalization. Arlene has helped dozens of organizations to make plans and solve problems.
Amy first was blown away by Arlene's work after reading her keynote talk “Reframing the Role of the Arts in California” at The California Arts Advocates’ Visioning Retreat in January 2010. The entire speech was very moving, but this part really hit home with all of us in regards to reframing the role of arts and the funding that supports the arts in America.
"But the big frame we need now is this: that art is the secret of survival, that if our resilience,
creativity and future sustainability are riding on the stories that shape us, we had better invest in
our collective capacity to create and share stories."
It was an honor to have a chance to sit down and speak with Arlene. We learned so much from her unique insights and incredible wisdom. We enjoyed discussing the need to "reframe" the context in which we speak about art and the role it plays within the cultural development of a community. We were very intrigued and passionate about her mission to create a new WPA in America. You can learn more about the WPA by reading one of Arlene's most recent blog entries. However, here is a bit of information regarding this exciting period in the history of the arts in America.
"Seventy-five years ago, Congress passed legislation for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federally funded jobs program that helped bring about the type of national recovery the USA needs today. The largest WPA program was "Federal One," which employed artists to paint murals, make theater, document history, teach music, and much, much more. The first programs for artists began as part of general job creation, in response to skyrocketing unemployment in the Great Depression." The Federal Theatre Project, led by the legendary Hallie Flanagan, was part of FDR's WPA program.
Arlene feels that the time is upon us for a new WPA and she is working persistently, passionately, and patiently towards the achievement of this goal. We commend her for this incredible pursuit and we know that just like Hallie she will pave the way for great advancements in the cultural development of American society.
We thoroughly enjoyed discussing cultural policy & sustainability with Arlene as well as the unlimited possibilities that exist for the arts to advance the cultural development of communities during these changing times. We are very excited to read her book New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development upon our return to Los Angeles. Hopefully in the future we will be able to collaborate with this wise and forward-thinking mind. Our meeting with Arlene was the perfect way to end Project Knowledge! And she was ready to take her thinker pose photo!!!!! Thanks Arlene for an inspiring, intriguing, and delightful conversation. We are excited to see the evolution of all of your new ideas! What an exciting time it is to be a leader in the arts world during this critical and important period of history. The future is SO bright!
I think that the legendary Group Theatre of the 1930's would be proud of all of the "thinking" that has been going on across America as we traveled from one great theatre mind to another. This journey has undoubtedly changed all of our lives. The education we have received has been unique and invaluable. We look forward to assessing the information we've gathered and then create plans for a very exciting, theatrical, and healthy future for Transcendence Theatre! Tomorrow we will be driving half way to Los Angeles. We cannot believe we will be home in 2 days!
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